The invention relates to the automated dispensing of a carbonated beverage into open containers.
The present invention arose during ongoing efforts by the inventor to improve carbonated beverage dispensing systems. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,363 entitled "Apparatus For Dispensing A Carbonated Beverage With Minimal Foaming", issuing on Feb. 18, 1997, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,732 issuing on Oct. 22, 1996, both incorporated herein by reference, the inventor discloses systems for dispensing carbonated beverage, such as beer or soda, into an open container. The system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,363 discloses the bottom filling of carbonated beverage into an open container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,732 discloses the use of a bar code reader to read indicia on the open container when placed beneath the nozzle that indicates the volume of the open container in order to automate the dispensing procedure, and preferably various aspects of on site accounting and inventory procedures. In these systems, the carbonated beverage is dispensed from a nozzle that has an outlet port placed near the bottom of the open container, i.e. the open container is bottom filled. In addition to bottom filling, these systems control the dispensing pressure of the carbonated beverage as well as its temperature in order to minimize foaming. In the above incorporated U.S. patents, the dispensing pressure is controlled by maintaining the pressure of the carbonated beverage to be dispensed at atmospheric pressure. In particular, the carbonated beverage is held in a vented chamber prior to dispensing in order to maintain the pressure at or near atmospheric pressure. The carbonated beverage in the vented chamber is cooled by circulating chilled air around the chamber.
As discussed in the above incorporated patents, carbonated beverage often foams while being dispensed into the serving container using conventional tap filling dispensing systems. As a consequence, personnel operating the dispenser must fill the serving container until the level of foam reaches the brim and then wait for the foam to settle before adding additional carbonated beverage. In some instances, several iterations of this process must occur before the container is filled with liquid to the proper serving level. "Topping Off" necessitated by the foaming of the beverage prolongs the dispensing operation and impedes the ability to ftilly automate the dispensing of carbonated beverages. Nevertheless, many establishments have push button activated taps which automatically dispense measured quantities of carbonated beverage into different sized containers, such as glasses, mugs and pitchers. Normally, this automated equipment only partially fills the serving container and the user must still manually "top off" the container after the foam from the automated step settles in order to dispense the proper serving quantity.
The system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,363, which uses a vented chamber prior to dispensing the carbonated beverage in order to maintain the pressure in the chamber at or near atmospheric pressure, is particularly well-suited for large volume operations, such as sports arenas, stadiums or other such venues. However, in venues with lower serving volumes, carbonated beverage remaining in the vented chamber may lose some carbonation or become flat.
Also, in many applications, it is desirable to control the amount of foaming rather than simply minimize the amount of foaming. For example, when pouring beer, the presentation of the beer and the head in the open container affects the drinkability of the beer along with its serving temperature. This is also generally true of carbonated sort drinks.